A private collection of material focusing on the never ending joys of the Trimet industrial complex
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Dispatch/Control clips represent approximately 5% of all calls chosen at random

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Monday, April 7, 2014

TRIMET AND ETHICS-PART 9

The "fareless boundaries" when they existed

A reader, who works with the gal who was hassled by police for letting a MAX train pass her by on a station platform, writes:

Who does Trimet hate more than commuters? Timbers
supporters! City of Portland, I ask you this: Why have a Free Zone that
ends 1 stop before Jeld Wen Field? Do you have any idea how many
supporters (soccer term for fan) use the MAX to get to matches? Oh wait,
you do, because you harassed us and handed out $175 tickets like candy
at last Saturday's match against Chivas!...
My fiancé and I live by the train station, which is inside the
current Free Zone. (Don’t get me started on Trimet eliminating the Free
Zone, that rant will come.) I work across from Pioneer Courthouse
Square, which is inside the Free Zone. The ONLY time either of us EVER
go outside the Free Zone is when we are lucky enough to possess tickets
to a Timbers match, which takes place ONE STOP outside the Free Zone. So
back to my tale… we are both pumped for the match, wearing our matching
jerseys as the train pulls up to the Jeld Wen stop. We are the first
ones off! Immediately we notice that a string of gates is set up on the
sidewalk herding supporters like cattle, we’ve never seen anything like
this before. I thought to myself, "Hmm, that must be for some VIP people
or something." We move along until we find a bigger opening to make our
move towards the field.Once we’ve passed through the gates, an upset Trimet Officer
#1459 aggressively questions my fiancé for his ID, which he did not have
on him (I was carrying both our ID’s). He says he doesn’t have it.
Immediately Trimet Officer #1459 threatens to call the police! At
first, neither of us understand why we were being threatened and
harassed, until the Trimet Officer continues to question us
belligerently for fare and ID’s. Aha! So the gates were a ploy to catch
people not paying… Ok, so I give Trimet Officer #1459 my ID and ask
politely that he write me the citation (being the nice law abiding
citizen I am- afraid that if we took off and ran this crazy guy would
call the cops on us). Whatever, I just want to move on and get out of
what seems to be a quickly escalating situation. Not good enough, he
continues to antagonize my fiancé in a very hostile way until I hand
over his ID as well.

By this time you can tell
#1459 is on a freaking power trip and turns away from us to go deal with
another poor soul who was trapped by the gates. Really? You just took
both our ID’s, write the f’ing ticket and move on! Oh no, #1459 is hell
bent on punishing beyond just the $175 fine. I calmly (because at this
point those that know me know I’m a raging bull inside) ask #1459 for
his name. He responds, "It’ll be on your citation!" I look at #1459 and
say to him, "Sir, you cannot even look me in the eyes and tell me your
first name while you have my ID with my name and address?" Two other
Trimet officers are standing by, so I ask them for their names, nothing
but blank glares (turns out these dopes are supervisors!). Wow, is this
really the kind of customer service Trimet prides themselves in? By this
point my anger and frustration is released and I’m bawling as #1459
takes his sweet ass time writing TWO citations! One for each of us! $350
just for going ONE STOP beyond the Free Zone! If I would’ve known we
would be persecuted like criminals, I would’ve walked from the last
stop! All my fiancé and I can do is hug each other and wait for this
nightmare to end!
But wait! By some miracle, another Trimet employee comes out of
nowhere and gets in #1459’s face, snatches the second ticket from his
hand and yells, "Let those kids go!" At this we take off running as I
yell behind me through tears, "THANK YOU!"Timbers lost that night. We still got one citation; my fiancé
will be going to court and pleading "Not Guilty" but at least we still
have our dignity (which #1459 does not)!!!

Ah, the joys of not having turnstiles. It's so Portlandia -- downright Blumenauerific.Original is here!